Analog Quantum Simulator

Matt King-Smith

2016

We designed an analog quantum simulator, a simple electronic device that is capable of solving quantum problems in Hilbert space of finite dimensions. In Quantum Physics, the experimental growth of the number of states with the system size is a frequent theme, which can create problems during computation. These computational problems lie in the challenge of representing the exponentially large amount of data that describes that state of the system, and the exponentially large time needed to solve the eigenvalue problem. We showed that an analog quantum simulator, through the use of neural networks, can address the computational time problem by generating quasi-instantaneous solutions to the eigenvalue problem. As an experimental realization, we designed an analog quantum simulator that solves a Hamiltonian that describes the location of an electron in the diatomic molecular ion O2. Our experimental eigenstates and eigenvalues are in agreement with those obtained from numerical exact diagonalization. The realization of the AQS in a microchip is possible and could allow for the treatment of systems larger than those accessible by numerical exact diagonalization.